Blogging: 6 simple steps to start a blog
There are many reasons people start a blog. Some use it as a journal or to vent, others enjoy writing, and some are looking to make a living or create a side hustle. If you’re reading this, you likely have a reason of your own. I personally started blogging years ago, as a hobby, then I wanted to monetize once I got pregnant, but eventually threw in the towel once I returned to work. Third time’s a charm, right? Read more about my story here.
Despite your reasoning, there are just a few basic steps to starting a blog, regardless of niche. This can be a cheap venture or you can invest as much into the business as you make. The primary blogging tip I can give you is RESEARCH. Research EVERYTHING. In blogging, you really have to become an expert in every area. Hosting, mild coding, MARKETING, social media, partnerships, SEO, all of it! Eventually, as you grow, you might consider hiring someone to help complete these tasks. But just as any other business owner, you have to know your business and you won’t have the money to invest upfront.
1: Research a website host
I was pretty easily swayed to sign up for Bluehost due to the familiarity I gained from my previous blogs. It’s very user friendly and anytime I’ve needed support’s help, I always received a timely and helpful response. Right now, when you sign up you can get up to 10% cash back with Rakuten on top of
2: Pick a blog name and register your domain
Naming your site
Choosing a name is really one of the fun parts of blogging. However, for many it can be a point of frustration. I remember when I very first got started with Instagram and Twitter years ago and deciding on a name was the worst part! You really have to get creative to find something no one else has. But you also want it to be something that you like the sound of because you’ll be saying it for a while. It also shouldn’t be something so complicated no one else can remember it. It’s a blog name, not a password!
Register your domain
Once you’ve narrowed it down and decided on just one name, you need to register it. Some people try self-hosting and it usually doesn’t go too great. I personally use WordPress through Bluehost. There are other platforms that you can go through to have a WordPress site, but like I stated above Bluehost was just the easiest blogging platform I found. It has great discounts and dedicated support to walk you through every step. Literally every step including the purchase. So if they help you before you even spend money, then you can imagine how supportive they are in getting you set up.
I don’t know about you guys, but I hate talking on the phone for support. You get some person that you can’t understand or that doesn’t understand your issue and it’s frustrating! Bluehost has great chat support and it eliminates the hold times and helps you clearly articulate your needs. Love, love, love the company!
So you register your domain, add any add-ons you think you’ll need (you can always purchase things later as your needs change), and Bluehost does all the hard work of setting you up with a user-friendly WordPress site! Then you’re on to the next step.
3: Create a few blog posts
This may be a different order of what you’ve seen on other blogs but content is king! As long as you have great content you can really focus on promoting it which is the hardest part. Aim to create at least 10 posts before launching. I only started with about 3 but definitely don’t recommend. It’s stressful learning marketing AND trying to create posts when you’re just starting out blogging. Have some posts saved to your drafts before even worrying about the site setup. Because once you’re set up you’ll be excited to launch.
I will say one thing you may want to do simultaneously is install the Yoast SEO widget so that you’re post will be SEO-ready from the start. It’s a lot simpler to do while creating a post, than to have the whole thing done and then adjust and add in.
4: Choose a blogging theme
Play around with several themes before selecting one. It’s not a permanent decision. So you don’t want to make a ton of modifications, just to figure out you don’t like it, then feel stuck because of the time invested. There are a lot of free themes out there. I feel like I had tried them all my last attempt with blogging and it just wasn’t working out. There wasn’t enough customization and the themes lacked the clean look I was going for.
I ended up purchasing a theme from Studio Mommy. And I don’t know how I found her themes (most likely Pinterest) but so happy that I did. The theme came with step by step instructions not only for installing it, but setting it up too! Again, I’m not one for contacting support and Studio Mommy really eliminated the need. She provides links to tutorials for everything and she’s not vague. She gives specific names and links of the widgets that work best for the theme you’ve purchased.
Best of all her tutorials don’t go away! I started this blog 2 years ago. Needless to say, she doesn’t even sell my theme anymore. However, the theme is still functional, still looks great, and still comes with all the tutorials that I paid for back then. Educating myself on the ins and outs of my theme was definitely worth the $25 I paid!
5: Set up a blogging email
This part is two steps. First, set up an email with you blog name at the end (ex: contact@mommyhustlepro.com). This is included free in your Bluehost control panel. If you’re on the front-end of your account it will look like you have to pay for a platform like Outlook or G-Suite, you don’t! Setting up the email name is included with what you pay for hosting and you can simply manage it with the Mail app that is included with your phone and laptop. I already pay for Outlook so I wasn’t paying again. This step is important in not bogging down your personal accounts with business emails. And it makes it a hell of a lot easier to track everything (income, accounts, subscribers, etc.).
The second step is setting up email for your viewers to subscribe to. Super important step! The only way to ensure you continue to get your content out, you’ll want to ensure you have a following that always checks out your new content. Then any new viewership you gain will be icing on the cake, and hopefully they’ll subscribe too. Having subscribers gives you a list of people who actually like your content who want to see more. These are the people that are more likely to buy your products once you start selling. So give them a free taste with a great opt-in so they know what quality to expect when you start selling a product.
6: Get the word out!
Once your blog is all set up and ready to go, you’ll want to get the word out. After all, where else will the subscribers come from. Believe me, they won’t just find you when there are 50 other bloggers out there putting their similar content right in their faces.
Create all social media accounts, but focus on one or two at a time. Start with Pinterest. You can create a new account or convert your personal to a business account. I actually loved Pinterest before I started blogging so I wanted to keep my personal account because I had a following and I knew I wouldn’t pin to my personal if I had 2 accounts.
Strategy
Once you’re winning one platform, move onto the next. Refer them not only to your site, but to the social media you’re winning at so they can see the same content so many other people loved.
Using apps like Tailwind to promote your content will drastically level you up. I suggest using Tailwind from the moment you start pinning. As with anything do your research to learn the service. Tailwind offers step by step tutorials when you first sign up and mix manual pinning into your routine as well. This will ensure you keep a natural flow of quality content. Big bloggers use the paid version to be able to share more pins. However, the free version will get you off the ground. With my link, you’ll actually get a free month of the premium version, Tailwind Plus. The app can also be use to grow your Instagram account but my primary use is Pinterest.
Get Blogging!
This is the broadest overview of the basics it takes to start a blog. The amount of time you put into it, is what you’ll get out of it. If you’re like me you can’t afford to walk away from your job to dedicate 10 hours a day. But it’s 3:45am as I write this and I get up for work at 5:30/6:00am. If you’re passionate about something, as I am to spend more time at home with Damon, you’ll put in the effort to grow your business.
Be on the lookout for more posts that dive deeper into creating your own profitable blog.
Did you like these tips? Let me know what was helpful for you. And if you started a blog based on these tips, I’d love to hear about it in the comments too!
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